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INSIDE THE McCARTHY BOYCOTT: For several weeks, it seemed that Gina McCarthy might sail through Senate confirmation to become the next EPA administrator. But then Sen. David Vitter got involved — and things started getting ugly. Since taking over as the top Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Louisiana Republican has led an aggressive campaign to paint the EPA as a secretive agency where bureaucrats hiding behind cryptic email addresses collude with environmentalists to work against the nation’s economic interest. Yesterday, that fight ensnared McCarthy, despite her bipartisan resume, many industry fans and kind words from some staunch conservative senators. Andrew Restuccia and Erica Martinson have more — including information on the meeting where Vitter reached a tipping point: http://politico.pro/10ey4sV

AWKWARD TURTLE: The already tenuous partnership between Sens. Barbara Boxer and Vitter has gotten a little … awkward. The two EPW heads yesterday publicly whipsawed between the fiery showdown over McCarthy’s nomination and the major water infrastructure bill they are both championing on the Senate floor this week. The clash over the EPA could further fray relations between them at precisely the time goodwill is needed most — the two must soon put their heads together again to push forward an even larger and more complex surface transportation bill. Darren Goode and Burgess Everett check in on their relationship status: http://politico.pro/12jyY6o

The reaction continues: In case you didn’t hear enough from all sides about the issue, former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-N.Y.), onetime chairman of the Science Committee, and Tiernan Sittenfeld of the League of Conservation Voters will discuss the GOP's boycott on a 1 p.m. teleconference.

TOP TALKER — HEINZ AWARD WINNERS LOBBY KERRY AGAINST KXL: A group of green-minded award winners is invoking a familiar name to lobby Secretary of State John Kerry to reject the Keystone XL pipeline: his wife. Several recipients of the Heinz Awards — established by Kerry’s wife Teresa Heinz in 1993 in honor of her late husband, former Sen. John Heinz — wrote to Kerry on Wednesday asking him to oppose TransCanada’s project by citing the need to combat climate change. Darren Goode has the story, and the letter, for Pros: http://politico.pro/15QVrgP

HAPPY FRIDAY and welcome to Morning Energy, where we’d like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that someone took the time to write a “Great Gatsby” NES game that you can play online: http://greatgatsbygame.com. If you’re not too busy searching for an impossible ideal of romantic love fueled by intense nostalgia and the general moral decay of society, send your energy news to aguillen@politico.com, and follow on Twitter @alexcguillen, @Morning_Energy and @POLITICOPro.

SENATE TO VOTE ON MONIZ NOMINATION: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced on the floor last night that the Senate has reached an agreement to vote on Ernest Moniz’s nomination to be Energy secretary. A time for debate and a vote still has to be worked out with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Reid said there would be three hours of debate on Moniz’s nomination before a vote. The Senate has adjourned until Monday. A spokesman for Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has had a hold on Moniz’s nomination since late last month, said the office isn’t yet commenting on the issue.

NAVIN TO DEPART DOE: Jeff Navin, the acting chief of staff at the Energy Department and deputy chief of staff since April 2011, “plans to transition out of the department in June to pursue private sector opportunities,” DOE tells ME. Navin previously was a deputy chief of staff for the Labor Department, chief of staff to former Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) and research director for former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

SOLOPOWER PLANS MORE LAYOFFS: SoloPower — a solar manufacturer that landed a $197 million DOE loan guarantee but never met the requirements to draw down any of that money — is continuing its layoff streak at its California headquarter, the Oregonian reports. “In a state notice, the troubled startup says it will lay off 33 in San Jose, separate from the 61 R&D, operations and administration jobs it slashed there last week. It has listed millions of dollars worth of equipment for sale, and a handful of executives have left in recent months as the company's financial struggles grew. The latest cuts, which include four executives, take effect June 17, the day it will shut down its taxpayer-backed plant in Portland and lay off a skeleton crew of 29.” More: http://bit.ly/147SXpL

ROOFTOP SOLAR COMPANIES FORM DISTRIBUTED SOLAR GROUP: Several rooftop solar companies — including SolarCity, Sungevity, Sunrun and Verengo — have joined to form a new group, The Alliance for Solar Choice, to promote distributed solar power. The group says its immediate focus is maintaining net energy metering, in which solar panel owners get credit for the electricity they generate, in the 43 states that use the practice. “If Americans are denied the right to choose how they produce and consume electricity, monopoly utilities will continue to choose their profits over the interests of consumers,” SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive said in a statement. TASC's executive director, Anne Smart, comes from directing energy issues for the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

SENATE ACTS AS FARMER OIL STORAGE RULE GOES INTO EFFECT: Today is the day EPA’s Oil Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure rule goes into effect — meaning farmers that keep more than 1,320 gallons of petroleum products in an aboveground container or more than 42,000 gallons in buried containers have to have spill prevention and reaction plans ready to go. The rule is enforceable in September — and no, milk is not included. Lawmakers from both chambers have been working to change the rule by upping the container requirements. Most recently, on Wednesday, the Senate approved an amendment to the Water Resources Development Act that temporarily increases the aboveground container requirement to 6,000 gallons, and calls for a study on whether a permanent exemption should be given to containers as small as 2,500 gallons. The amendment — backed by Sens. Mark Pryor, Deb Fischer, Jim Inhofe and Mary Landrieu — was adopted by unanimous consent.

OFA HITS BOEHNER, SMITH OVER CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE: Organizing for America is continuing to recruit supporters for its upcoming climate actions, announced last month. In an email yesterday OFA Chair Jim Messina slammed House Speaker John Boehner and House Science Chairman Lamar Smith for being “unsure whether the science behind climate change … is real.” He added: “As long as our members of Congress continue to develop their own theories behind climate change, we will fall further and further behind in our ability to make actual progress on this issue.” The email: http://politico.pro/12hOsJn

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QUICK HITS

— Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be in New York next week promoting the Keystone XL pipeline. Edmonton Journal: http://bit.ly/1485Lws

— The Huffington Post checks in on the controversy surrounding the proposed Pebble Mine in Alaska: http://huff.to/195vTsD

— A judge has pushed back the trial date for former BP vice president David Rainey, charged with hiding information from Congress about the oil leak rate in 2010. Times-Picayune: http://bit.ly/176oJb7

— A federal court has ruled Chevron is entitled to unspecified damages in a contract dispute in California against DOE. Bloomberg: http://bloom.bg/12jeWc6

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